A New Panem
by malemockingjay
Summary: 5 Years after the events of Mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta have grown back together, and everyone else has rebuilt their lives, Panem has evolved under Paylor, hopefully it will be better than this summary! Just the opening chapter for now, providing a back drop for the story, PM me if you like the premise and i will continue writing.
1. Chapter 1: A new Panem

A new Panem

It has been 5 years since the war, Panem is thriving under president Paylor, and the districts are no more, she and her government decided that they were simply too painful a reminder of snows sadistic dictatorship. In their wake have sprung up states, each one retaining the boundaries of the district that once stood there. Paylor thought of renaming 12 "Everdeen" , apparently in my honour, but the notion was tossed aside after all it succeeded in doing was reminding me that I was once a scarred, war battered mockingjay who had been used as a tool in a selfish game of thrones. Coin didn't care who she hurt or killed, as long as she ended up being president at the end of it, and that is why I ended her, and not snow.

Besides, Paylor is a great leader, she knows what the people want, coming from one of the districts herself she had experienced firsthand what living under snow was like, and being a victor she knew how it felt to have been a pawn in his games. Panem has come a long way under her, every state has its own council, made up of 20 or so members who make the bulk of day-to-day decisions. Housing areas have been built for all of Panem's residents, and almost everyone has a paid job of their choosing. The capitol itself is nothing like it was before the war, it is a normal city filled with normal people, just like the rest of the country, of course there is still the extravagant dress sense and crazy culture, but they aren't savages anymore, they don't marvel at the hunger games and they don't overindulge on exotic foods whilst the rest of Panem starve.

As for the people, Gale and I still keep in touch, even though he lives and works in the capitol now, with his new girlfriend I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. He seems happy, we got over the whole him killing prim thing about a year ago now, I realized how selfish I was being and we opened up to each other, coming to the conclusion that the only person to blame for Prim's death was Coin. Me and Peeta have grown back together, he still has the occasional episode where he has to leave the room for a minute or two, but they are few and far between, and have grown less severe. Dr. Aurelius said he will never properly be rid of the capitol's evil, but neither of us mind, we both know Peeta would never hurt me, and they don't happen often enough for it to be an issue.

As for Finnick , his body was never recovered, and it turned out that the mutts were only out to kill me, somehow he managed to escape the detonation from the communicuff, but was taken by the peacekeepers and imprisoned in a secret dungeon within the bowels of snows palace, where he remained for about a month, presumed dead until the secret entrance was discovered and they pulled him out, in a rough state but alive, and thankful. He and Annie have continued married life in peace, in 12, and their little boy is as adorable as any child can be, he has deep sea green eyes just like his father, and spends most of his days chasing girls around the victors village, it is obvious that he is going to grow up to be a womanizer, just as his father did before him. Johanna stayed in 12, unable to return to district 7 because of the bad memories. She got a house next to Haymitch in the victors village, and hasn't stopped complaining about the noise from his geese yet. That's right, Haymitch sobered up and went back to raising geese, and even got himself a spot on the district council. The new Haymitch is kinda strange, but I'm getting used to him, he's cleaner, funnier and less grumpy on the whole, an improvement on the lethargic drunkard we knew and loved.

Beetee is here in 12 too, he set up a technology stall at the hob, which is now a trading centre for the entire district, and before he knew it he was the mastermind behind a business empire, creating some kind of device that allowed avoxes to talk again by picking up vibrations from their throat and translating it into speech. This has helped Pollux massively, with his new found voice he is now the most sought after cameraman in the capitol. Plutarch went on to do what he wanted all along, to be a television and film director. We still keep in touch, and he is constantly nagging me to feature on some new singing programme he dreamt up. My prep team now work religiously with Plutarch designing the makeup and costumes for his over elaborate shows. Although Cinna is no more, he continues to live on through my prep team, Flavius in particular since he took up the reigns and is now a well respected stylist in his own right. Everyone has changed since the rebellion, but the biggest change was in me, Katniss Everdeen, my old dismissive, selfish and serious self died with the war, and was replaced with a happy, love struck young woman. The mockingjay it seems, spread her wings and took flight.


	2. Chapter 2: Real or not real?

**I'm Sorry if you don't like the idea of Finnick being back, but he was one of my favourite characters, and i wanted him to be alive so much i completely changed mockingjay just to fit that in. Thankyou for the review whoever you are, and i was shocked to see someone has favourited it! Even if i only have one fan, I'll keep writing! I'm just 15 years old so if you have any criticisms could you keep them constructive please? Thank you for reading, it may seem silly but i'm ecstatic that someone that isn't my teacher has actually bothered to read something i have written! i'll try to update every day, but im busy with school lately so you may have to wait a few days for a new chapter.**

* * *

Things were tough after the war **,** as soon as i was granted permission to leave the capitol, i returned to district 12, or what was left of it at least. No sooner than i arrived did the rebuilding effort begin, prefabricated homes were put up for those who lost their houses in the bombings, and for anyone who had decided to relocate to 12. Those who held special significance to the war effort were granted houses in the victors village, and a medical centre was set up at the hob until a more permanent one could be established.

It was about 6 months later that Peeta returned, after Dr. Aurelius was absolutely certain that he could handle the sight of me. The night of his return, which was a surprise to all of us, i caught him planting primroses around the side of my house. I let him labour away for a few minutes, before my anxiety got the best of me and i rushed out to confront him. I was shaky at first, i just stood there, staring at him until he plucked up the courage to talk to me "Hey, katniss". I didn't respond, i just stood there, dumbfounded, trying to figure out why he wasn't trying to kill me. It took about 5 minutes for me to say something, and instead of greeting him, or telling him how much i'd missed him, i cut straight to it "What are you doing Peeta?" i asked, realizing how ungrateful i sounded. "I thought you'd like this, a memorial for prim" he said in his usual, soft caring tone. As he stood up, dusting off his muddy trousers, he gazed into my eyes, and gently placed his cold hand upon my cheek, i shivered at the touch, but i allowed it, it was something i had longed for, the entire time he was away. I noticed the look in his eyes, it was the first time he has looked at me like this since that moment on the beach, with the pearl during the quarter quell, the Peeta i knew, the boy with the bread had returned to me. I let his gaze linger for a while, taking in the old Peeta, gauging whether or not i could have a future with this boy. I glared back for a while, getting lost in his eyes, allowing my mind to wander, before i found myself repeating the word prim, over and over in my head. I started fighting with my conscience, _be nice to him katniss, the boy is hurt, he is doing something nice for_ _you, _but all i could think about was the last word he said to me _prim_."I hate it" i snapped, and immediately regretted what i had just said, but i couldn't take it back, i turned and ran, before Peeta could say anything, back into my house and slammed the door.

I spent the rest of the night curled up in a ball in front of my fire, in tears, reluctant to sleep for fear of having nightmares about prim. I didn't mean what i said to Peeta, i was so grateful to him for what he did, but just hearing the words prim triggered that reaction, i figured i would apologize to him in the morning, and tell him how i really felt. I fought with all of my willpower to stay awake, to not drift off and re-live prims death, but i couldn't fight it any more, at about midnight i fell asleep. The same dream plagued me every night since that day in the capitol, watching the children's little faces light up as they rushed to gather the parachutes that they thought to contain food, or water, only to be ignited just moments later by the balls of fire protruding from the parachutes. I see prim rushing in alongside the other medics from 13, desperate to help them. She turns and smiles at me, and for a moment it seems as if everything is going to be alright, but at that moment, the second bomb erupts, flames engulf her, singeing off all of her hair and melting the flesh away from her face, i scream her name, helpless as i watch my little sister slip away in front of me, i collapsed to the floor in a heap of blood and tears, and that's where it ends.

I am woken up early to the sound of my front door rattling, i drag myself up off the floor and stumble to answer it, still half asleep, and find myself staring at a rather happy looking Haymitch. He invites himself in, finding his way into the kitchen, scouring my kitchen cupboards for something to drink, before coming to the sudden realization that i don't possess any alcohol, the look of horror on his face was priceless. He took a minute to gather his composure, before turning to me and breaking the news "Peeta's back!" he exclaimed. This i already knew, but i thought i'd let haymitch have his moment of joy, and tried to act surprised. Haymitch saw right through my façade of course, after feigning my love for Peeta for so long, i thought i might have been a good actor, but clearly i wasn't. "He's already been here hasn't he?" he asked me condescendingly. I figured it might be better to show him, so i took him outside, and pointed at the primroses, Haymitch stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out what i was on about, but when he finally realized he seemed quite pleased with himself. "He always was one for sentimentality." he said softly, i was taken aback by this, i'm not used to Haymitch having feelings, he's normally too drunk for emotions, but i let it slide just this once. I stood silently with him for a minute, taking in the beauty of the flowers, they truly did reflect her, the beautiful yellow petals reminiscent of her long, golden hair, and their splendour and beauty was definitely a quality that was bestowed on prim, now i understood why my parents named her what they did.

A month passed, Peeta visited regularly, we played real or not real every time he came round, each time scratching deeper into his memory, reaching down to some of the more personal stuff. One night was particularly memorable though, we were sat in my living room, after just eating rabbit stew that greasy sae provided, and began our usual game of real or not real. We started with simple things, like "My name is Peeta" and "I come from district 12", getting progressively more personal, until we reached the more interesting questions."My favourite colour is orange, real or not real?" "Real, but not like effie's hair, more of a sunset orange." we both giggle, it's nice seeing Peeta happy again, he's slowly coming back to me, and for that i'm grateful. "Yours is green, real or not real?" "Real" i smile at him affectionately, he picks up on it, the look in his eyes is the same one he had when he first came back to 12, the one when he touched my cheek on the night he planted the primroses. I decide to turn the game around, and ask him a question myself. Taking a huge risk, i quietly and softly ask him "You love me, real or not real?" he pauses for a moment, leaving me in fear that i may have just triggered an episode, he closes his eyes for a moment, and i move to the edge of my seat, ready to run if he decided to attack me. We remain like this for several moments, until he finally opens his eyes, cracking a huge ear to ear smile, his face illuminating as he does this, he's so handsome when he smiles. When he manages to escape his smile, he leans into me, whispering the word i longed for him to say, right into my ear "Real".


	3. Chapter 3: Old Friends

**Can I just say how thankful I am for you reading this, I'm Glad you're enjoying it so far, as promised here is the next chapter, sorry if it isn't as good as you'd like but i've been busy with rugby tonight, enjoy!**

* * *

A few days passed, and each night Peeta slept in my bed, with me, helping me ward off my nightmares. He went home every morning, after breakfast so that he could get himself ready and spend the day in the bakery, which he decided to reopen. He returned each evening with a fresh loaf of bread, or a beautifully frosted cake, just in time for Greasy Sae to serve up dinner. We ate, talking about the events of the day, which since he spent his in the bakery, and I spent mine either hunting or curled up in front of my TV, soon fizzled out into small talk.

Peeta still hasn't had an episode yet, which fills me with worry that there must be one imminent, but I don't allow it to disturb me too much. We haven't had a game of real or not real since that night, but Peeta doesn't seem to need it, his memory has all but come back to him. Things carried on like this pretty uniformly, until Haymitch paid us a visit one evening, looking presentable for once since he decided to sober himself up. He made small talk with us, before announcing that Paylor had selected him to be a member of the district 12 council. The thought of Haymitch making the decisions that would govern the way I would live the remainder of my life sickened me, but at the same time I was happy for him, happy because he had managed to do something with his life, other than drinking it away. As much as I complain about him, Haymitch is the closest thing I have to a father now, he looks out for me, just as he did in the games, and he's actually a pretty sweet guy, in his own unique, Haymitchy way. He told us about his geese, and how Johanna hadn't stopped moaning about the noise yet. That reminded me, I hadn't spoken to Johanna since we returned to 12, and I wondered how she was coping in her new home, obviously Haymitch's geese weren't helping her, so I decided I would pay her a visit as soon as Haymitch left, which he did...eventually.

I gathered my coat and left Peeta sat in front of my TV, his eyes fixed on some baking programme. I made the 20 yard trek to Johanna's house, it was pitch black, but the dim street lights in the victors village allowed for some vision. I stumbled up the path to her front door, immediately understanding Johanna's plight, Haymitch's geese never shut up. I knocked 3 times, and awaited an answer, to which there was none. I waited for a moment, listening to my heavy drawn breath in the cold evening air, until Johanna, clearly just out of the shower with wet hair and wearing nothing but a towel, answered the door. "Hello brainless". She looked good, or better than she did in 13 anyway, her hair had grown back, and the wrinkles on her face had faded, for the first time since the quell she actually seemed pretty content. She invited me in, and I accepted her invitation in a split second, desperate to get out of the icy cold winter air and into the warmth. Johanna directed me to the couch in front of her hearth, which was hissing viciously as the flames devoured the logs, and left upstairs to go and get dressed. As soon as she was gone, I got up to look around her place, I didn't know much about Johanna, she kept herself to herself and tried to put on a brave face. She didn't have many possessions, a fact I learned when we roomed together in 13, but one thing did stand out, a framed picture of her and Blight on her mantle, I picked it up to study it, and remembered her words _"He wasn't much, but he was from home."_ perhaps they may have been together, in a time before the quarter quell, poor Johanna, she quite literally had nobody, which only made me even more determined to befriend her. Aside from this photograph, it appeared she had nothing but furniture, perhaps she had something upstairs, but I wasn't about to venture up there whilst Johanna was home. I sat back down, staring at the blank TV screen in the corner. Johanna emerged moments later, wearing night clothes, which to me meant she was either comfortable around me, or simply didn't care. "So then girl on fire, what brings you here?" I laughed, "Just checking up on you, brainless" I said jokingly, Johanna smirked, and then reverted to looking surprised, I guess she wasn't used to people caring about her. We sat in front of the fire, talking about things, she told me how she had pretty much recovered from what snow did to her, she started off small with trivial things, like running her finger under a tap, eventually working her way up to getting a shower. I applauded her perseverance, I would have given up, "I only managed to recover, because of Peeta" I told her, my head down, eyes poised at the floor "He's still around then huh?" she asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice, "Yeah, he's still scarred himself, but we help each other through it" I add, Johanna now looking really jealous turns and says to me "I had to recover alone, I didn't have any baker boys to look after me". I allowed myself to laugh, but deep down I felt nothing but remorse for Johanna, she didn't know how it felt to be loved, or to love someone like Peeta and I do. " I'm sorry" I blurted out. " I'll try to be here for you from now on, you could use a friend". Johanna paused for a minute, smiling before accepting my offer, it felt good to say that "Thanks, brainless" she responded, the corner of her mouth turning up into a half smile. We sat, talking about girly things for about an hour, trivial subjects like hair and clothes, something neither of us held particular interest in, but it was the only common ground we shared that wasn't games or torture related. Just as the conversation reached its expiry point, I decided that it would be a good idea to return to Peeta, "I have to go, I left Peeta watching baking shows, god knows what he's been getting up to while I've been here" Johanna giggled, the first properly feminine sound I've actually heard come from her, and let me out the door. I walked back to my house, opening the door slowly, and creeping into the living room, hoping to surprise Peeta, who wasn't there. I scoured the house, looking for signs of mischief, but after a solid 5 minutes of looking everywhere, to no avail, it dawned on me, Peeta was having an episode.


End file.
